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Our nation's immigration and border security system is badly broken. It leaves our borders unprotected, threatens our national security, and makes a mockery of the rule of law. The system has suffered from years of neglect, and in a post-9/11 world, we cannot tolerate this situation any longer.
National security demands a comprehensive solution to our immigration system " and that means both stronger enforcement and reasonable reform of our immigration laws. We must solve this problem " and solve it now.

Earlier this year, I accepted the chairmanship of the Senate subcommittee with jurisdiction over immigration, because I accept the challenge of bringing disparate voices together to craft a comprehensive solution.

Last week, the U.S. Senate began a series of hearings on the need for comprehensive reform. And following those hearings, I will introduce comprehensive legislation with Sen. Jon Kyl. As senators from the states of Texas and Arizona " representing 85 percent of the nation's southern border " we are long familiar with the unique opportunities and difficulties presented by our close proximity to and relationship with Mexico. And as the chairmen of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship, and the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security, we have spent months conducting a top-to-bottom review of the holes in our current immigration system.

For far too long, the debate over immigration has divided Americans of good will into one of two camps " those angry and frustrated by our failure to enforce the rule of law, and those angry and frustrated that our immigration laws do not reflect reality.

But both camps are right. This is not an either/or proposition: We need stronger enforcement and reasonable reform of our immigration laws.

First, we must recognize that, in the past, we simply have not devoted the funds, resources and manpower to enforce our immigration laws and protect our borders. That must " and will " change. No discussion of comprehensive immigration reform is possible without a clear commitment to, and a substantial and dramatic escalation of, our efforts to enforce the law.

That's why we've convened a series of hearings over the past two months, devoted exclusively to the topic of strengthening enforcement throughout our nation's immigration system " at the border, between the ports of entry, and within the interior of our nation. The men and women who operate our immigration system work hard and do their best, and we appreciate their efforts. But our border inspection and security system at the ports of entry is full of holes. Our deployment of manpower and technology to secure the border between the ports of entry is inadequate. And our deportation process is overlitigated and underequipped.

So we need stronger enforcement. But enforcement alone will not get the job done. Nor will our immigration system be fixed merely by throwing money at the problem. Our laws must be reformed as well as enforced.

Any reform proposal must serve both our national security and our national economy. It must be both capable of securing our country and compatible with growing our economy. Our current broken system provides badly needed sources of labor, but through illegal channels " posing a substantial and unacceptable risk to our national security. Yet simply closing our borders would secure our nation only by weakening our economy. Any comprehensive solution must address both concerns.

This week, the Senate examined the national security justifications for immigration reform. Of the more than 10 million people currently in our country without legal status, and of the hundreds of thousands who enter every year undetected, some fraction of the population no doubt harbors evil impulses toward our country. Yet, currently, it is a practical impossibility to separate the well-meaning from the ill-intentioned. We must focus our scarce resources on the highest risks.

Law enforcement and border security officials should focus their greatest energies on those who wish to do us harm " not those who wish only to help themselves and their families through work. We cannot have a population of more than 10 million within which terrorists and their supporters can easily hide. And we cannot have that population afraid to cooperate with our law enforcement and antiterrorism efforts.

This week, the Senate will examine the economic justifications for immigration reform. Our economy would badly suffer if we removed millions of workers from our national work force " just as it would suffer if we eliminated entire stocks of natural resources from our national inventory. Our economy would be strengthened if all workers could simply come out of the shadows, register, pay taxes, and participate fully in our economy.

I agree with the president's stated principles for comprehensively reforming our nation's immigration laws. And we recognize that any effort to reform and to strengthen enforcement of our immigration system, to succeed in the Senate, must be bipartisan.

In recent months, we have seen a growing recognition and consensus, across the political spectrum, that a comprehensive immigration solution is long overdue " and that the solution must not be an either/or proposition. We are a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. We need an immigration system that serves our national security and our national economy, as well as our national commitment to the rule of law. We must strengthen enforcement of law, but we must also enact laws that are capable of strong enforcement.

"Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship

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Our nation's immigration and border security system is badly broken. It leaves our borders unprotected, threatens our national security, and makes a mockery of the rule of law. The system has suffered from years of neglect, and in a post-9/11 world, we cannot tolerate this situation any longer.
National security demands a comprehensive solution to our immigration system " and that means both stronger enforcement and reasonable reform of our immigration laws. We must solve this problem " and solve it now.

Earlier this year, I accepted the chairmanship of the Senate subcommittee with jurisdiction over immigration, because I accept the challenge of bringing disparate voices together to craft a comprehensive solution.

Last week, the U.S. Senate began a series of hearings on the need for comprehensive reform. And following those hearings, I will introduce comprehensive legislation with Sen. Jon Kyl. As senators from the states of Texas and Arizona " representing 85 percent of the nation's southern border " we are long familiar with the unique opportunities and difficulties presented by our close proximity to and relationship with Mexico. And as the chairmen of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship, and the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security, we have spent months conducting a top-to-bottom review of the holes in our current immigration system.

For far too long, the debate over immigration has divided Americans of good will into one of two camps " those angry and frustrated by our failure to enforce the rule of law, and those angry and frustrated that our immigration laws do not reflect reality.

But both camps are right. This is not an either/or proposition: We need stronger enforcement and reasonable reform of our immigration laws.

First, we must recognize that, in the past, we simply have not devoted the funds, resources and manpower to enforce our immigration laws and protect our borders. That must " and will " change. No discussion of comprehensive immigration reform is possible without a clear commitment to, and a substantial and dramatic escalation of, our efforts to enforce the law.

That's why we've convened a series of hearings over the past two months, devoted exclusively to the topic of strengthening enforcement throughout our nation's immigration system " at the border, between the ports of entry, and within the interior of our nation. The men and women who operate our immigration system work hard and do their best, and we appreciate their efforts. But our border inspection and security system at the ports of entry is full of holes. Our deployment of manpower and technology to secure the border between the ports of entry is inadequate. And our deportation process is overlitigated and underequipped.

So we need stronger enforcement. But enforcement alone will not get the job done. Nor will our immigration system be fixed merely by throwing money at the problem. Our laws must be reformed as well as enforced.

Any reform proposal must serve both our national security and our national economy. It must be both capable of securing our country and compatible with growing our economy. Our current broken system provides badly needed sources of labor, but through illegal channels " posing a substantial and unacceptable risk to our national security. Yet simply closing our borders would secure our nation only by weakening our economy. Any comprehensive solution must address both concerns.

This week, the Senate examined the national security justifications for immigration reform. Of the more than 10 million people currently in our country without legal status, and of the hundreds of thousands who enter every year undetected, some fraction of the population no doubt harbors evil impulses toward our country. Yet, currently, it is a practical impossibility to separate the well-meaning from the ill-intentioned. We must focus our scarce resources on the highest risks.

Law enforcement and border security officials should focus their greatest energies on those who wish to do us harm " not those who wish only to help themselves and their families through work. We cannot have a population of more than 10 million within which terrorists and their supporters can easily hide. And we cannot have that population afraid to cooperate with our law enforcement and antiterrorism efforts.

This week, the Senate will examine the economic justifications for immigration reform. Our economy would badly suffer if we removed millions of workers from our national work force " just as it would suffer if we eliminated entire stocks of natural resources from our national inventory. Our economy would be strengthened if all workers could simply come out of the shadows, register, pay taxes, and participate fully in our economy.

I agree with the president's stated principles for comprehensively reforming our nation's immigration laws. And we recognize that any effort to reform and to strengthen enforcement of our immigration system, to succeed in the Senate, must be bipartisan.

In recent months, we have seen a growing recognition and consensus, across the political spectrum, that a comprehensive immigration solution is long overdue " and that the solution must not be an either/or proposition. We are a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. We need an immigration system that serves our national security and our national economy, as well as our national commitment to the rule of law. We must strengthen enforcement of law, but we must also enact laws that are capable of strong enforcement.

"Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship